Rive might skip the Wii U and be released for NX instead

Two Tribes is putting the finishing touches on their side-scrolling shooter, Rive, but it looks like the game’s upcoming launch this September will skip the Wii U. Speaking to Nintendo Life, Two Tribes Co-Founder Collin Van Ginkel confirmed the developer is having problems getting the game to run smoothly on the Wii U:

The Nindies demo in 2015 was specifically optimized to perform well in hand-picked levels and didn’t manage 60FPS consistently. We’ve added a lot of stuff since then and we haven’t been able to reach the performance level required yet. We won’t release Rive unless it’s a solid 60FPS, and if that means delaying it to a future platform, we will make that call and make sure Nintendo fans get the perfect experience.

This performance problem, coupled with the impending retirement of the Wii U, has prompted Two Tribes to consider moving Rive to the NX:

The market has also changed. The game was supposed to ship over a year and a half ago, and things are a lot different now. Nintendo is exiting the Wii U market early in favor of the NX which means a long tail in sales is not looking likely. So that is the business part; do you release a game on a platform in its last days or on a new one that’s better suited and can reach gamers for years to come?

Two Tribes has yet to announce when Rive will be available for a Nintendo platform, but we do know the game is on track to launch this September for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.